Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Independent) | Oireachtas source

One initiative the Government undertook to its credit, in the face of this damaging and unhealthy centralisation of power and control freakery, was the convening of the Constitutional Convention. It was a good idea and it seems to have been very well run. The Government should be congratulated for doing that and we should have more of such conventions.

However, it is regrettable that the legislation before the House and the proposed referendum to reduce the age of eligibility for election to the office of President has taken priority over some other issues. My understanding is that the convention recommended making the Constitution gender neutral. We have one of the least gender balanced parliaments on earth; we are behind Afghanistan. The last time I checked we were 88th in the world. Making the Constitution gender neutral would be a very strong signal that Parliament and politics in Ireland are beginning to move on, to modernise and progress. The Constitutional Convention suggested lowering the age of eligibility for election to the Dáil from 21 to 18 years, which would be very useful.

I have tabled legislation on removing the offence of blasphemy from the Constitution, which is something that is not only preposterous in a modern society but is being used up to this day to quell dissent in ways with which I do not think anyone who believes in freedom of speech should be happy. There were many other options for this proposed referendum, if we have a very limited time and opportunity to get people to change the Constitution. While the first question, which is around marriage equality, is critically important, the second one should not have been prioritised over some of the other issues. I reiterate that while I believe this legislation and the proposed referendum are a missed opportunity, it is a small move in the right direction and I will be supporting it.

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